Brush section for an electric toothbrush

ABSTRACT

The invention is directed to a brush section ( 2 ) for an electric toothbrush ( 1 ), having a carrier tube ( 4 ) to which is fitted a bristle carrier ( 5 ) comprising a plurality of bristles ( 6 ). The carrier tube ( 4 ) is adapted to plug onto a mount ( 7 ) of a hand piece ( 3 ) of the electric toothbrush ( 1 ). Provision is made for spring elements ( 14 ) arranged between the carrier tube ( 4 ) and the mount ( 7 ). Noises and vibrations are thereby reduced when the electric toothbrush ( 1 ) is in the activated condition.

[0001] This invention relates to a brush section for an electrictoothbrush, having a carrier tube to which is fitted a bristle carriercomprising a plurality of bristles, and being adapted to plug onto amount of a hand piece of the electric toothbrush. Further, the presentinvention relates to an electric toothbrush with a hand piece and abrush section of the aforementioned type.

[0002] A brush section of this type and an electric toothbrush of thistype are generally known and commercially available.

[0003] An electric motor and a storage battery are accommodated in thehand piece of the electric toothbrush. The bristle carrier held on thebrush section is mounted on the carrier tube for rotary or pivotalmotion. When the toothbrush is activated, a rotary motion produced bythe electric motor is transmitted to the bristle carrier by way ofsuitable shafts and joints. Hence the bristles are made to perform acleaning movement. The bristles can be placed by a user against thesurface of his teeth and thus used for dental care.

[0004] In the course of time the bristles of the brush section becomeworn and have to be replaced. It is partly for this reason that thebrush section is designed to be plugged on the hand piece because thenit can be replaced. The carrier tube of the brush section and the mountof the hand piece are coordinated to be joinable together by positiveengagement. In this manner the brush section is fixedly held on the handpiece in a positive-engagement relationship thereto.

[0005] Plugging on the brush section and, in particular, pulling it offthe hand piece should not require too much force of the user. This iswhy, as previously mentioned, provision is only made for apositive-engagement relationship between the carrier tube and the mount.A press-fit connection or the like is not possible. Consequently, thecarrier tube and the mount usually display a certain play.

[0006] When the electric toothbrush is activated this play results in amovement which is oriented particularly in a radial direction but alsopartly in a tangential direction. This movement creates undesirablenoises and vibrations of the brush section relative to the hand piece.Furthermore, said movement makes it at least more difficult for optimumtransmission of the cleaning movement to the surface of the teeth.

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to devise a brushsection for an electric toothbrush such that it enables a zero-playconnection with the hand piece yet does not require greater force of theuser when plugging on or pulling off the brush section.

[0008] This object is accomplished with a brush section of the typeinitially referred to by providing spring elements arranged between thecarrier tube and the mount.

[0009] The spring elements ensure that the carrier tube and hence thebrush section adopts a zero-play position on the mount and hence on thehand piece. Undesirable movements of the brush section in the activatedstate are thus reliably prevented, as are the noises and vibrationsresulting therefrom. At the same time the spring elements require nospecial force of the user when plugging the brush section on the handpiece. On account of the resilient characteristics of the springelements the user has to overcome only a small resistance in order tourge back the spring elements and plug the carrier tube on the mount.Overcoming this resistance signifies no great effort and hence noreduction of comfort for the user but is taken rather as a sign that thebrush section is now plugged correctly on the hand piece. Thanks to thespring elements the brush section is fixedly held on the mount of thehand piece in such a way that no relative movements arise between theprofiled sleeve and the mount when the brush head is pressed (or betterplaced) against the surface of the teeth and when only small contactforces are applied. It is thereby ensured that even smallest movementsof the mount are invariably transmitted to the mouthpiece.

[0010] In an advantageous further aspect of the present invention thespring elements are either fitted to the brush section or are fitted tothe hand piece and/or the mount and/or are adapted to plug onto themount. The spring elements can thus be assigned to the component bestsuited for design reasons for implementation of the same. This may benot only the brush section but also the hand piece and particularly itsmount. Similarly, it is possible to design the spring elements as aseparate component to be plugged on the hand piece and/or the mount.

[0011] If the spring elements are assigned to the brush section,provision is made in a first advantageous embodiment of the inventionfor a sleeve equipped with the spring elements and adapted to plug intothe carrier tube. Hence with a view to the material selection, forexample, the spring elements can be manufactured independently of theother components of the brush section. Similarly, the spring elementscan be constructed with an optimum design for their intended function,without having to make allowance for any particular fringe conditions ofthe brush section's other components.

[0012] If the spring elements are assigned to the brush section,provision is made in a second advantageous embodiment of the inventionfor the carrier tube to be equipped with the spring elements. Noseparate component is needed, therefore, to implement the springelements. Instead the spring elements are integrated in the carriertube. This represents a particularly simple and convenient way toaccommodate the spring elements, particularly with a view to thematerial outlay and production effort required.

[0013] In an advantageous further aspect of the present invention, thesleeve or the carrier tube includes as spring elements at least oneshoulder having a bend that curves in the direction of the mount. Thespring elements are thus implemented by means of one or several curvedshoulders. This shoulder ultimately forms a type of bending bar whosecurvature results in the desired resilient characteristics. Startingfrom the sleeve plugged onto the carrier tube or from the carrier tubethe curve is oriented in the direction of the hand piece mount. When themount is inserted in the carrier tube, the curve is oriented inwards. Acertain resistance develops on the curve of the shoulder which the useris in a position to overcome using a slight pressing motion. Theresilient characteristics of the shoulder then act on the brush sectionin such a way that it is held in the mount without play.

[0014] Particularly conveniently, the sleeve or the carrier tube is madeof a plastics material. The shoulder is thus also made of plastic sothat the plastic's capability of being bent has an advantageous effecton the resilient properties of the shoulder.

[0015] Further features, application possibilities and advantages of thepresent invention will become apparent from the subsequent descriptionof embodiments of the invention illustrated in the Figures of theaccompanying drawing. It will be understood that any single feature andany combination of single features described or represented byillustration form the subject-matter of the present invention,irrespective of their summary in the patent claims or their backreference, as well as irrespective of their wording and representationin the description and the drawing, respectively. In the drawing,

[0016]FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a brushsection for an electric toothbrush illustrating an embodiment of thepresent invention; and

[0017]FIGS. 2a to 2 c represent schematically a longitudinal sectionalview, a top plan view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of asleeve of the brush section of FIG. 1.

[0018]FIG. 1 shows an electric toothbrush 1 having a brush section 2 anda hand piece 3. The brush section 2 is plugged on the hand piece 3 butcan be pulled off the hand piece 3 in order, for example, to be replacedby a different brush section 2.

[0019] The brush section 2 has an elongate carrier tube 4 with a bristlecarrier 5 projecting at approximately right angles from the tube endremote from the hand piece 3. The bristle carrier 5 is equipped with aplurality of bristles 6. At its end close to the brush section 2 thehand piece 3 has a mount 7 on which the brush section 2 is plugged.

[0020] Further accommodated in the hand piece 3 are an electric motorand a storage battery. With the electric toothbrush 1 activated, arotary or pivotal motion produced by the electric motor is transmittedby means of shafts, couplings, gears and the like to the bristle carrier5 which thus performs a rotary or pivotal motion about an axisapproximately parallel to the bristles 6.

[0021] With the electric toothbrush 1 actuated, a user can place thebristles 6 against the surfaces of his teeth and use the rotary orpivotal motion of the bristle carrier 5 to clean and care for his teeth.

[0022] A sleeve 8 is provided in the end of the brush section 2 close tothe hand piece 3. In this area of the brush section 2 the carrier tube 4is of an approximately cylindrical configuration and the sleeve 8 isplugged in the carrier tube 4. The sleeve 8 is secured against rotarymovement in the carrier tube 4 as by ridges or the like engaging ingrooves. Furthermore, the sleeve 8 is secured against being pulled outof the carrier tube 4 by detent elements or the like.

[0023]FIGS. 2a to 2 c show the sleeve 8 of the brush section 2 on anenlarged scale.

[0024] The sleeve 8 is of a cylindrical construction and has anessentially circular cross section. On its outside wall 9 the sleeve 8has two circumferential annular ridges 10, 11, at least one of which canact as detent element.

[0025] In the longitudinal direction the sleeve 8 has two slots 12, 13,with a shoulder 14 constructed in between. As can be seen in FIG. 2a inparticular, the shoulder 14 is equipped with a curve or bend. The latteris oriented inwards, meaning toward the smaller diameters, and hence inthe direction of the mount 7 of the hand piece 3.

[0026] At least the shoulder 14 is made of a flexible or elasticmaterial. The entire sleeve 8 in particular is made of a plasticsmaterial. The shoulder 14 thus forms a bending bar with resilientproperties. Hence the shoulder 14 performs the function of springelements.

[0027] The inside wall 15 of the sleeve 8 has a cross-sectional shapeand a diameter conforming to the outside wall 16 of the mount 7 so thatthe mount 7 can be plugged in the sleeve 4 by positive engagementtherewith. Where applicable, the sleeve 8 and the mount 7 have crosssectional shapes designed to permit the sleeve 8 and hence the brushsection 2 to be plugged on the mount 7 and hence on the hand piece 3only when turned to a certain position.

[0028] To plug the brush section 2 on the hand piece 3, the mount 7 ofthe hand piece 3 has to be inserted in the sleeve 8 of the brush section2. As this occurs, the sleeve 8 is itself plugged in the carrier tube 4of the brush section 2. When the mount 7 reaches the inward projectingbend of the shoulder 14, a certain resistance results. This resistanceis overcome by pressing back the bend of the shoulder 14. The mount 6can then be inserted fully in the sleeve 8. The brush section 2 is thusplugged fully on the hand piece 3.

[0029] In a configuration differing from the sleeve 8 as described,there can be either two or more shoulders 14. The shoulder or shoulders14 do not have to be fastened at both ends; it is also possible for theshoulder or shoulders 14 to be fixed at one end only. The slots 12, 13defining the shoulder or shoulders 14 may also be implemented byreductions in wall thickness to the sleeve 8 so that the sleeve iscompletely closed around its circumference. It is also possible for thespring elements to be incorporated generally in the sleeve 8 as elasticcomponents in the broadest sense.

[0030] It is likewise possible for the spring elements to be arrangeddirectly on the carrier tube 4, thereby eliminating the need for the.sleeve 8. This can be accomplished, for example, by providing theshoulder or shoulders 14 directly on the carrier tube 4. At least theshoulder or shoulders 14, or the complete carrier tube 4 as well, arethen made particularly of a plastics material, thus producing thedesired resilient characteristics.

[0031] Another possibility is for the spring elements to be assigned tothe hand piece 3 and not to the brush section 2. In this arrangement thespring elements can be provided directly on the hand piece 3 or on themount 7. Similarly it is possible for the spring elements, for example,in the form of a sleeve or the like, to be plugged on the mount 7.

[0032] Further, the spring elements can be constructed so that theyproduce not only a force outwards in a radial direction but also a forcein a tangential direction. This enables tangential movements of thebrush section in the activated state to be prevented and vibrations andnoises to be further reduced.

1. A brush section (2) for an electric toothbrush (1), having a carriertube (4) to which is fitted a bristle carrier (5) comprising a pluralityof bristles (6), and being adapted to plug onto a mount (7) of a handpiece (3) of the electric tooth-brush (1), characterized in thatprovision is made for spring elements arranged between the carrier tube(4) and the mount (7).
 2. The brush section (2) as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that the spring elements are fitted to the brushsection (2).
 3. The brush section (2) as claimed in claim 2,characterized in that provision is made for a sleeve (8) equipped withthe spring elements, said sleeve being adapted to plug into the carriertube (4).
 4. The brush section (2) as claimed in any one of the claims 2or 3, characterized in that the carrier tube (4) is equipped with thespring elements.
 5. The brush section (2) as claimed in any one of theclaims 3 or 4, characterized in that the sleeve (8) or the carrier tube(4) includes as spring elements at least one shoulder (14) having a bendthat curves in the direction of the mount (7).
 6. The brush section (2)as claimed in any one of the claims 3 to 5, characterized in that thesleeve (8) or the carrier tube (4) is made of a plastics material. 7.The brush section (2) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims,characterized in that the spring elements are fitted to the hand piece(3) and/or the mount (7) and/or are adapted to plug onto the mount (7).8. An electric toothbrush (1) with a hand piece (3) and a brush section(2) according to any one of the preceding claims.